Harry Sheezel – Deck of DT 2024

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Why should I pick him?

The Sheez had an amazing first season in the AFL in 2023, where he averaged 97.3 from 23 games. Some of his scores included a 118, 127, 119, 126, 112, 112, 116, 110 and 129. This a pretty high ceiling for not only a first year player, but for a defender. This was with both Jack Ziebell in the side and Aaron Hall at times last year, and with both departing North, there should be even more ball back there for Harry Sheezel to rack up.

If he stays in the half back role that we saw him play in last season, along with natural improvement going into his second season, could we see a similar breakout to that of Nick Daicos last season? Daicos went from an 87.8 in his first season, all the way up to 108.4 last year, which included the game he was injured against Hawthorn. Sheezel averaged more in his first year, so can he match or even go better than Daicos 2nd season average? It’s unlikely because Daicos was part of a better team in his second season compared to Sheezel being apart of a rebuilding North Melbourne team, however, it is quite possible Sheezel could average 100-105 if he can raise his floor from the 50’s to in the 70’s.

Preseason is going to be the key with Harry Sheezel as we approach Round 1. If he has a role where he is playing mainly across half back with some midfield time, then I think he is going to be a very good pick because he not only with naturally improvement with another preseason under his belt, but he also doesn’t have an early bye, compared to the likes of Nick Daicos, Nic Newman, Lachie Whitfield and Jayden Short.

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

The main thing holding me back from being on the Sheezel train just yet is we don’t exactly know what his role is going to be in 2024. During the preseason, he has been training with the midfield group instead of the backline. It could be as simple as just to get Sheez some experience in the preseason as a midfielder as he doesn’t necessarily need the training in the half back role, while it also gives the likes of Zac Fisher and Colby McKercher to get comfortable playing across half back. Or it could be that Sheezel is potentially going to transition into a more midfield/forward role. If this is the case, I would not be picking him as there is too much unknown. I’m not sure he would average much more than 85-90 if he has a more forward role. If he plays midfield, he could average 90+, but I’d want to see it first. But the best case is that he keeps that half back role, where I could see him average 95+ once again, maybe even push the 100 average marker in 2024.

My other concern with picking Sheezel is the potential tag threat. We saw at times during his first season (which is crazy) that teams put attention into him, either pre game or during the game if he was dominating. Teams may look at North Melbourne and see LDU as the harder player to tag as he can influence a game in a number of ways, with Sheezel being the easy player to tag as he gets a lot of his ball on the outside. With North likely to struggle at times during 2024, it’s likely he doesn’t actually cop many tags or heavy attention, but it is something you need to consider when picking Harry Sheezel in your starting side.

Deck of DT Rating.

JACK

Harry Sheezel gets the Jack rating in the Deck of DT, purely because of the uncertainty of his role. If we hear or see in the preseason that he is going keep that cushy half back role we saw him dominate in last season, then there is an argument that he could be a queen, or even a king pick because of what we saw him do in his first season. It’s a big preseason watch for me, and if I see the half back role, then he will be a heavy consideration for my starting team before Round 1.

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Bails

I am a lover of all sports, especially the AFL. Some of the teams I support include the Adelaide Crows, Manchester United, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Rams just to name a few. I am also a big fan of fantasy sports, particularly AFL Fantasy and NFL Fantasy.